Flip Flops
by JazzQuirk
Summary: Kaoru disguises herself as a boy to attend one of the best Kendo clubs in the country at an all-boys school. Forced to stay in the dorms, Kaoru finds her roommate to not only be one of the hottest guys she’s ever met, but the captain of the Kendo club!
1. The Plan

**Flip-Flops**

Chapter 1

"_The Plan_"

By JazzQuirk

* * *

"Kaoru, are you absolutely positive you want to go through with this?"

Kaoru dropped the last of her bags onto the sidewalk with the rest and slammed the trunk of the taxi shut. Then she turned to her cousin and gave her a familiar, exasperated look.

"Yes, Megumi, I'm sure. More than ever now that I'm actually here," she emphasized this by waving her hand towards the gate and the building that lay beyond. Megumi's elegant and done-up face contorted into a scowl unbefitting of her image, and Kaoru knew what was coming before she could start.

"This is ridiculous! There's no way you're coming out of this unscathed, and if you're parents knew what you were up to they'd smack you!"

Kaoru finished putting on her backpack while Megumi fumed about, what Kaoru could tell, were things she'd been dying to say.

"I can't believe you're going through with the half-brained plan, and all for an unsuccessful dojo and stupid, intimidating man!" her cousin growled. "How could you let that piece of scum talk you into risking your reputation like this?"

"First of all," Kaoru gripped the straps of her backpack to resist the urge of putting her hands on her hips in a signature move of the female, "don't call my father's dojo unsuccessful. Secondly," she said quickly to cut off her cousin's retort, "I know that man is stupid and I am _not_ intimidated by him!"

"Then you're scared!" Megumi accused.

"I am not scared and you know it!"

The two girls stared at each other, unrelenting in their stances. This was an argument they had had plenty of times before, and neither was willing to back down – stubbornness was one of the very few traits passed down to them both from their grandparents. It wasn't until a young man carrying his own luggage, along with his parents, walked by that Kaoru finally pulled back.

She fought back the hurt building in her chest from Megumi's lack of support, and directed her gaze off to the side, "That man has power that I can't compete with, Megumi, and this may be the only chance I have to save what's mine. And don't try and tell me the dojo isn't important, because _it is_!" Kaoru snapped when Megumi opened her mouth for the second time.

Her older cousin must have finally conceded to the fact that she was going to go through with this because she bit back whatever snappy thing she was going to say next and closed her eyes in concentration. When she opened them again, her face was in a frown. "You're right, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I know that dojo means more to you than you're life."

Kaoru craned her head back up to look into her cousin's eyes.

"And I know you're not scared, at least not of him, anyway."

Another small group of people passed by, making their way to the iron gates.

"But if anything were to happen to you…" This time it was Megumi who looked away, and she could not hold back what Kaoru had been able to.

Kaoru understood what Megumi could not finish and stepped in to hug her cousin with all her might. Megumi hugged back and let a lone tear drop onto Kaoru's ear. "I know Megumi, I know," Kaoru said, breaking away, still clutching her arms, "but I promised that I wouldn't let anything happen to me."

Megumi dabbed away the unshed tears still lingering in her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve.

"We're all we've got, and that's why it's more important than ever for me to fight for my home. I know you're doing the same for the clinic," Kaoru said.

"You can hardly say that my rigorous push through college is the same as you sneaking into an all-boy high school to learn kendo!" Megumi whispered fiercely.

Kaoru smiled lightly at the irony of their situations and Megumi seemed to lighten up a little at the idea, too. But Kaoru remained unyielding in her resolve to go through with this plan.

"Megumi, this is the best school in the country for kendo, and if I can study here, I have every shot of beating that guy in a match, winning that money and keeping the dojo."

"But–"

"And I know you can't understand why it has to be that way, but it just does. It's the fighter in me that makes it so."

Megumi gave her a skeptical look, and Kaoru couldn't help but laugh a little at her cousin's indignation with the idea.

Kaoru gave her a jolly pat on the shoulder and bent down to strap another bag over her shoulder, "It's okay, Megumi. You may never understand the ways of the warrior, but I'll never understand the ways of the intellectual, so we're even." Her cousin gave a small, understanding smile at this truth, and Kaoru flashed her prize winning grin.

Megumi stared at her younger cousin, and conflicting feelings flashed openly on her face. Finally, she gave the sigh of defeat, and began the habit of picking invisible lint off herself when she knew there was no point continuing, "Well, when you're right, you're right, I suppose." She cast another uncertain look onto the school before setting her stern eyes back onto Kaoru. "Are you sure you're going to be able to handle this?"

"Positive, as long as I have your trust and support."

Another long sigh and then Kaoru found herself in another suffocating hug. "Always," she heard her cousin say, and then she pulled away and got back into the cab. Kaoru could tell she was preparing to make a speedy get away, less she suddenly have a change of heart. The two girls looked at each other for the final time through the open window of the backseat of the cab.

"You call me immediately if anything happens, alright?" Megumi said sternly, her tough character falling back into place.

"Of course," Kaoru replied, knowing she would resort to that only in a dire emergency.

"And if any of those boys find out who you are or do anything they shouldn't, you have my permission to cause permanent damage."

"Couldn't stop me if they tried."

Kaoru picked up the rest of her luggage and gave a fleeting look to the last of her family. "'Bye, and tell Misao to behave herself."

She turned around after a nod and farewell from her cousin and headed toward the high, iron gates, listening momentarily to the sound of the cab driving away. She felt a large wave of relief wash over her at the knowledge that she could still depend on her cousin for support, even if Megumi whole-heartedly disagreed with her actions. But Kaoru had resolved to follow through with this whatever the cost, and there were many, she knew.

Marching through the gates, she took one last steady breath on her way to the front doors.

---

Once inside, Kaoru went straight to the front desk. She filled out the small amount of paper work waiting for her there, then grabbed her key and headed right for her dorm room. While she didn't want to appear unfriendly, she knew her first priorities were to get safely settled in and acquainted with her new surroundings.

She crammed into an elevator with handsome young guy and his father, who gave polite nods of greeting to her as she got in, and she returned the action. She set down one of her overstuffed duffle bags and hit the button for the fifth floor, her company headed for the fourth. Kaoru noticed the elevator was quite small and figured it was due the smallness of the school itself. It probably worked for the three-hundred some students on a regular basis, but it made move-in day a pain, for sure.

The student and his father got off on the fourth floor, and Kaoru soon departed onto the fifth. The hallway was long and doors lined both walls, before it turned left, continuing the corridor. Kaoru looked at the numbers placarded on the first door she came to, reading "501". Her room was 524, so she headed down for the end of the hall.

Kaoru noticed that her floor seemed to be less hectic than the fourth, but she thought that might just be due to the fact that first years were scheduled before the seconds, which was her grade level. As she passed other doors, though, she noticed that a few of them were open and she could hear (sometimes glimpse) people moving inside them. She skirted pass one door in particular that was just beginning to play loud music in celebration of the move-in.

As she reached the end of the hall, her large duffle bags weighing heavily on her arms, Kaoru spotted 524 on the door of the corner room – the one that faced opposite the elevator.

And it was open.

Kaoru had always known that the required dorm policy was going to be the toughest of all her challenges here at this school, but she had been hoping to at least get there first and hide some of her belongings. Her heart had sped up from nerves, the truth of what Megumi had been trying to say all this summer finally catching up with her, but she couldn't turn back now. She took another deep breath and put her shoulder to the door, hoping her roommate was a nice guy.

The door swung open with ease and Kaoru hobbled inside, laden with all her luggage. She spotted the made bed and the one beside it with folded blankets still on top and set her things down next to that one.

"Hi."

Kaoru paused in the middle of taking off the bag slung around her neck and looked to the corner from where the voice had spoken, her eyes landing immediately on bright, vibrant, red hair. She quickly moved to the smiling face beneath it and took in the first look of her new roommate.

"Hi," Kaoru said, flinching internally at the highness of her voice. She quietly tried to clear it a little.

The guy stepped forward towards her and Kaoru couldn't help but notice how good looking he was. He stuck out a hand to her as she dropped the bag to the floor.

"I'm Himura Kenshin," he said, in a confident, manly voice.

Kaoru quickly slid her backpack off and let it drop next to the other stuff on the floor, taking the outstretched hand in a firm grip. His surprisingly handsome face (and body, now that she took a moment to look) had thrown her off for a moment, but the sound of his deep voice had brought her back to the seriousness and reality of her situation. It was important for her to make a good – and convincing – first impression.

"Kamiya Kaoru, nice to meet you." Her voice was a lot better this time, though it could still only pass in the tenor range.

"Likewise," his smile widened, and she hoped it meant that he was pleased with her as a roommate.

They separated and Kenshin returned to the corner where a desk was placed against the wall. To its left was a tall, but slim, bookshelf, and another desk to the left of that, completely bare. Kaoru went to work on making her bed while Kenshin went back to setting up his computer.

"Are you new to Suzukawa this year?"

Kaoru looked up to where Kenshin stood in the corner but continued to tuck the corners of her bed sheet around the mattress. He was half facing her, back to the wall with the door, untangling some wires and looking at her expectantly.

"Yep," she replied, hoping light conversation wouldn't lead to unwanted questions. "You?"

"Been here the whole time," he said. "What school did you go to before this?"

"Omori. It's a public school," she explained when he didn't show signs of recognition.

"Ah, and how was that?" he asked, not looking at her anymore as he tried to work out a particularly messy knot.

"It was alright. Pretty much just like junior high, except with more work and bigger drama," Kaoru joked.

He didn't laugh. "Is public school anything like private school?"

Kaoru began unfolding the upper bed sheet, her heart beating less than calmly, "Dunno, never been to a private school before. Do you think it's different?"

"Can't say. Never been to a public school before," Kenshin said, finally getting all his wires free and setting them apart.

"You've been in private schools your whole life?" Kaoru said incredulously, caution and curiousness edging its way into her consciousness, putting her on alert as to who exactly her roommate was.

He laughed a little at this and she relaxed a tiny bit. "No. Actually, I was homeschooled."

Kaoru stopped what she was doing. "Really?"

He nodded, still smiling.

She began on the comforter, "Wow, I didn't think people did that anymore." The statement was half for herself, half for him. But Kaoru couldn't help thinking the idea that this little tidbit about her roommate might be beneficial when explaining some of her reflexive habits.

"So what made you transfer?" Kenshin continued, keeping the conversation going.

"Family issues," Kaoru replied, thinking that was the most honest response she could give to a question like that without getting more questions.

He seemed to understand because he didn't press the issue. Instead, he followed with, "Well, I hope you like it here. I know I'm glad to finally be b–"

_Bang!_

Kaoru jumped in shock as the door to the room flew open, and she thought she saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Kenshin jumped a little, too.

"Kenshin!"

Kaoru watched the man now standing in the doorway, body on the alert and ready to act if he made any more sudden movements, as he addressed her roommate with a knowing demeanor.

"How's it goin', man!" The tall brute strode into the room without waiting for invitation and went straight for Kenshin, smacking him on the back. The shorter man seemed to be used to the treatment and caught himself gracefully as he was thrown forward from the blow.

"It's goin' good, Sano, how about you?" Kenshin said back to, what Kaoru had deduced was, a well-known friend. His voice was still calm and she was glad that he hadn't risen to energy level of this new guy.

"Great! Can't say I'm happy about school startin' again already, but it's good to see everyone. Hey! You'll never guess who my roommate is," at this last remark, Sano's face took on a less than joyous look. Kenshin had barely raised his eyebrows in question before Sano answered, "Kamatari!"

At this, Kenshin promptly burst into laughter and Kaoru decided to leave the two to their inside joke and commence unpacking, settling herself on the floor in front of her first duffle bag.

"Stop laughing!" Sano bellowed.

"I'm s-sorry, Sano," Kenshin stammered out in an obvious attempt to quell his laughter, "it's just that Kamatari being your roommate is like putting a bar of soap in a puddle of mud." There was another bout of laughter and, this time, Sano joined in.

"Yeah, well, Kamatari hasn't even unpacked his bags yet in hopes that someone will change with him. I'm keeping my fingers crossed."

Another round of chuckles ensued as Kaoru began putting clothes away in the empty dresser right next to her bed.

"By the way, where's your roommate?"

Though Kaoru had been trying to stay out of their reunion, she couldn't help poking her head up at the mention of the roommate. She decided she'd better get on her roomate's friend's good side instead of giving him the cold shoulder.

"Hello," she said, popping her head up from behind her bed, "I'm Kamiya Kaoru."

She watched with a small amount of apprehension as Sano came over to shake hands. She didn't bother applying a firm grip as he practically crushed hers in his, him apparently unawares.

"What's up? Sagara Sanosuke, at your service!"

Now that Kaoru was actually forced to look at him, she had the chance to take in his appearance in its entirety. He was tall, looming over her and Kenshin (who happened to be similar in height) by almost a whole foot, his long, spiky hair only added to the affect. His face had a charming sort of toughness to it, along with a healthy tan, and the button down shirt he wore had been left open so Kaoru could clearly see the rippling muscles of his abdomen. Even in his lean, lankiness, she knew instantly that this was a guy whose bad side she'd never want to be on.

She also felt a tiny prick of anxiousness at the thought that _all_ the boys at Suzukawa High were good-looking.

"Hey, I've never seen you before, you new?"

"Uh, yeah," Kaoru answered uncertainly, hoping she wasn't about to become fresh meat.

"Then how about swapping rooms with me, eh?"

Kaoru's face dropped.

Sano seemed to pick up on her unease and sought to take advantage of it, "I'm mean, you've got no idea what kind of roommate Kenshin's going to be, but me? I can keep him in his place."

Kaoru highly doubted that last statement.

"Don't listen to him, Kaoru, he's just trying to worm his way out of being roommates with Kamatari," Kenshin piped in, pulling more things out of bag on his bed.

"Aww, come on, Kenshin. A pretty boy like Kamiya here would make a great roommate for Kamatari!"

Pretty boy?

"What makes you think I'd want to be roommates with you anyways?"

"Why not?" Sano looked offended.

Kenshin gave him a sympathetic smile, "Sano, you may be my best friend, but you're still a slob."

"Yeah, but at least you'd be understanding!"

"I doubt that."

Sano turned back to Kaoru, who had attempted to loose his attention by resuming unpacking.

"How about it, Kamiya, you feel like switchin'?"

Kaoru looked up into those hopeful eyes before turning to her own roommate for help. She was glad to see that he was shaking his head ardently and mouthing the word "no".

She turned back to Sano and stood up, smacking him on the shoulder, reminding herself to be callous and not sympathetic. "Sorry, but I think I'd rather see you suffer."

The mischievous smile Sano wore suddenly fell into a stupefied look, and Kaoru couldn't help but grin back at him. She heard Kenshin laughing behind him, and she headed over to her desk to begin setting up her own computer instead of waiting for a reply.

"Guess that's that, Sano," Kenshin said, still sniggering. "Better luck next time."

Sano scowled, but didn't have time to press the issue as a loud voice boomed in the hallway. "SANO! YOU GET BACK HERE AND TURN DOWN THIS PIECE OF SHIT STUFF YOU CALL MUSIC!"

Kaoru and Kenshin watched as Sano bolted out of the room shouting back, "Keep your panties on!" and telling Kenshin he'd see him at dinner, shutting the door behind him. The two looked from the door to each other, and burst into another fit of laughter.

With what Kaoru felt was her first real test over, Kaoru let out a deep sigh of relaxation. Her paranoia hadn't been put to rest yet, but after two successful introductions and a feeling of good vibes coursing through the room, Kaoru definitely felt a boost in her confidence. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all.


	2. The Reality

**A/N:** Horray! An update! I just wanted to let you all know that even though it took me a couple of months to update this chapter, I've been working on other parts of this story in detail so that they'll be ready down the road. But until then, enjoy this! (^_^)

* * *

**Flip-Flop**

Chapter 2

"_The Reality"_

By JazzQuirk

* * *

Though Kaoru felt exhausted from stress, mental activity that was uncommon to her, and the physical act of just moving in, she lay wide awake at four-thirty in the morning, after getting less than the recommended eight hours of sleep. Early mornings were not new to her, nor altogether unwelcomed, but she deeply wished for the benefits of a good rest before she officially started the new and hard life guaranteed to her here, and after yesterday, she was going to need to be on her game. But sleep escaped her as thoughts plagued every second ticking by.

Yesterday had been…well…

...blurred.

Or maybe chopped up. Yes, that was probably a better way of describing it – chopped. There weren't really moments that melted into others, or parts of the day that had been glossed over in her mind's memory. No, it had appeared more fragmented, like she had visited different checkpoints throughout the day and performed the duty required of her there, everything laying between those moments being used for travelling only, and completely unnoticed.

Whatever good vibes Kaoru had been feeling after Kenshin's friend Sano left the room that afternoon slowly gave way to insecurities as more people arrived on the second year floor, and the noise level increased with friends anxiously greeting those they hadn't seen over the summer holiday. Actually, if she really thought about the first meeting with her roommate and his friend, those hadn't been good vibes either. They were merely subtle butterflies that she had convinced herself of otherwise in her delusion. And as the day went on, those butterflies switched from being a small little bundle of nerves settling in her stomach to a large swarm of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her entire body.

After Sagara Sanosuke had departed for the time being, Kenshin and Kaoru lapsed into a comfortable silence while they finished unpacking. Kenshin initiated a little idle talk here and there, and Kaoru was torn between staying busy by chatting with the guy or keeping her silence to prevent any accidental slip-ups of her true identity. Neither helped to make her feel more comfortable with the situation, and it wasn't until Kenshin left the room to go visit some of his own arriving friends that Kaoru realized how tense she'd been.

The one thing Kaoru had always hated about real life (and science class) was that plans often worked better in theory than in action. Standing alone in that dorm room attempting to hide her tampons definitely made her think she'd been mistaken in thinking she could pull this off. How long could she avoid the large mass of boys standing right outside her door? And even if she could do that for awhile, how long could she fool Kenshin before he picked up on those little idiosyncrasies that were impossible to hide as a member of the opposite sex? Would he confront her about it? Would he _hurt_ her? _How much trouble would she really get in_?

What made her believe that this plan could ever actually work?!

Kenshin arrived back in the room a few minutes after she'd tucked away what few feminine products she'd brought in a bag under her bed. Her heart had given a little leap when he didn't knock upon entering and interrupted her thoughts. She caught herself just in time when her hand came up in a nervous gesture to brush hair behind her ear and she managed to turn it into a comb of the fingers through her entire hair – a move she'd watched plenty of guys do before.

Feeling on edge, the beginnings of trepidation setting in, she followed Kenshin down to the cafeteria for dinner when he offered to show her the ropes. They joined another pair of guys on their way down to dinner, and together they took the elevator to the first floor.

By that time, Kaoru was talking herself into just making it through the first night and then she would go back upstairs, call Megumi, and get the hell out. Even if she had to cry, whine, and beg her cousin to forgive her for her idiocy, she'd do it.

One look into the crowded dining area seemed to confirm her worst fears, and Kaoru hastily decided to grab a microwaveable bento and go back to the room in lieu of joining Kenshin and his friends for dinner. He must have figured she was nervous or homesick because he gave an understanding nod and didn't say anything else as she left in the opposite direction.

The small minimart was empty except for her and the cashier, and back up on the fifth floor she met the same scenario, say for a few stragglers who lazily made their way down to dinner. Once inside the room, Kaoru threw the bento into the microwave, though she had no real intention of eating it. She relocked the door on her way to her bed and pulled out her cell phone.

She pushed number two for Megumi's speed dial and the number flashed onto the screen.

But she didn't get the chance to push the SEND button as Misao's name lighted up the phone.

"Misao?" Kaoru answered tentatively, eager and desperate to hear the voice of a close friend. They had agreed to not call each other too often so people wouldn't be suspicious of her talking to a girl all the time.

"Kaoru! Oh my god, Kaoru, is that you?! Are you okay? Is everything working–"

"Yes, yes, it's me. I'm fin–"

"out? Are you settled in yet? Were there any problems? Who's your roommate! What's-he-like? Did-he-say-anything? _Is-he-suspicious?_ Have-you-met-any–"

Kaoru had held the phone a good distance away from her at this point and let Misao finish her rampant questioning uninterrupted. Everything the vocally-hyped girl said could still be made out quite clearly as Kaoru settled her head into her hand, elbows settling onto her knees. She hoped that Kenshin didn't decide to return soon as Misao's questions began to range from loud, aggressive shouts to conspiratorial whispers, as if someone might be around and could over hear them.

Thankfully, Misao ran out of breath fairly quickly.

Kaoru put the phone back to her ear. "Are you finished yet?

Only labored breathing came through for a moment, and then a soft, "…yeah."

Kaoru smiled gently, comforted by the familiarity of a habit that usually annoyed her. She tried to start up a normal conversation before Misao could get worked up again, "Now what was your first question?"

"Are…are you…" Misao took in a large gulp of air on the other side of the line and exhaled, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Misao."

"Fine? Only fine? I'd've thought you'd be jumping off the walls with glee after having sacrificed your whole summer to plan for this thing!"

"Oh, well…"

"What? Did something happen? Is something wrong?"

Kaoru could feel the nerves in her stomach again. "No, it's just that…" the words stuck in her throat, but Misao waited quietly until she could finish, "…I'm not sure I can do this."

Kami, she was such a coward.

"WHAT!? What do you mean you can't do this? Of course you can, you've been planning this for months! You were so confident when you left this morning. What made you change your mind?"

"I…I don't know," Kaoru replied honestly, not really sure anymore as to what had caused the insecurities. "I guess it," she fought for the right words to explain what she was feeling, "just feels like everyone can see right through me – not _through_ me like I'm invisible or anything, but through my disguise. It's as if knowing I'll only ever be surrounded by boys at any given moment has made me feel more girly than I've ever been in my whole life!"

Kaoru thought she might have heard a snicker on the other end, but if she did, then it was convincingly turned into a cough.

"Kaoru, we've had this talk before!" Misao's remark may have sounded a little exclamatory, but Kaoru could already feel the amount of support her best friend was about to pour into her next words. "You have spent your entire life in that dojo surrounded by boys, _and_ you've shown each and every one of them whose boss. You said it yourself that going to an all-boys school to practice kendo would feel just like home!"

Kaoru thought back to all the wonderful memories of training and teaching at their dojo in Tokyo, and tried to compare those experiences to the ones she was having in Kyoto. She couldn't come up with anything considering she had avoided any unnecessary contact with the teenage boys around her.

"I know what I said, Misao, but this is different. I'm not just training with these guys, I'm coexisting."

"Oh my god, it's your roommate, isn't it?"

"What? No, my roommate has nothing to do with this."

"Did he say something? Like about you being too pretty? Did the clothes we buy not work very well?"

"No, no, Misao, he didn't say anything. In fact, he was really nice and–"

"Is he hot?"

A moment's delay. "Eh–"

"He is, isn't he!"

Kaoru could feel a blush working its way up onto her cheeks and thanked the heavens no one had been around to see it. She figured it to be a too late to try and deny Misao's accurate guess and covered her eyes with her free hand as if that might make it easier to admit. "He's pretty good-looking…"

There was a scream on the other end.

"I knew it! I knew it! I was afraid this was going to happen! Now you can't concentrate because you have the hots for your sexy roommate and that's why you've lost your nerve!"

"Misao! My roommate has nothing to do with me wanting to go home!" Kaoru tried to keep the conversation light-hearted, but Misao's arbitrary reasoning was starting to get on her nerves. Her words didn't seem to have any effect though.

"Ugh! I wish I could be there with you right now! I remember when we went to visit Kyoto to stake out the school and there were so many hot guys there. I have to admit, for a little while there, I was _sooo_ totally jealous that you were going there, –"

"Misao," Kaoru could feel the urge to smash her head on the wall beginning to emerge.

" –until, you know, I considered the circumstances, but now I'm still wishing I could have snuck in there with you and found that tall, dark, and handsome piece of ass we saw th–"

"MISAO!"

Misao stopped.

"You are not helping!"

A few seconds passed with no response, until Misao could conjure up a feeble apology.

Whatever pep talk Kaoru had been looking for apparently wouldn't come from Misao. "If you aren't going to help, then I'm going to hang up before my roommate comes back and asks why I'm talking to an overly-excited, _little_ girl about hot roommates."

"Well what do you want me to say? This whole thing was your idea in the first place and Megumi tried to talk you out of it all summer!"

"Just convince me everything's going to be okay!"

"BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT!"

They said nothing, and Kaoru was sure she'd never felt lower in her life.

"Kaoru…?"

Water started to gather in her eyes, but she wiped them away angrily.

"Kaoru?"

"What?" The word sounded bitter, and she hated it.

"Listen to me, Kaoru," Misao paused, to think or to give Kaoru time to refuse, she didn't know, "you're in a serious situation."

Another pause.

"After everything that's happened – your father, the dojo, that_ man_ – I can't say that everything's going to be alright. Fate has already proven me wrong on that twice."

Kaoru nodded, forgetting that Misao couldn't see her. A hot tear trickled down to her cheek, despite her fierce attempts to hold them back. She wiped it away on her sleeve and sniffled loudly.

"The time ahead of you, it's not going to be easy, you made sure of that. But if you give up now, you're going to regret it the rest of your life."

She let the words sink in, but a small part of her resisted, "May-maybe I could–"

"No! You can't! There's nothing else you can do, and you made me realize that! Kaoru, you're good, but you're not that good, and with your father gone you need the best teacher you can get. This is your best chance of getting the training you need and nothings going to stop you from getting it!"

The tears let up, and Kaoru could feel the fire coming back to life. "You're right," she said more weakly than she intended, the sobs she'd choked back clogging up her throat.

"Of course I'm right! I'm right because it's the truth, and if you forget why you're there then you'll never make it in that school!"

Yes, she had forgotten why she'd come here, ever after putting up a defiant front for her cousin just this morning. But all the reasons were starting to flood back to her now.

"You need to kick whatever stupid thoughts you're having out of your head right now. You're just being paranoid! You're there for a reason more important than anyone else's who goes to that school and you give _hell_ to anyone who makes you feel otherwise. Use that neat pinch move I've seen you do, that's always been effective."

Kaoru laughed softly, and it was a feeling so good she wanted to hurry up and do it again.

"Okay, Kaoru?"

A relaxation began to settle in the back of her shoulders where stress was beginning to make knots, and she started nodding again, "Okay."

"There, was that helpful?"

Kaoru laughed again, and this time it was much more hearty and genuine. "Yes, very."

"Good."

"Thanks, Misao."

"No problem."

"I really needed that," Kaoru admitted, the last of her tears getting soaked into her shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, well, I figured you'd be needing one at some point, I just wasn't counting on it being so soon."

"Me neither."

"Just take some photos of your roommate naked for me and we'll call it even."

"Okay, sounds like a deal, but I think I better go and wash my face before anyone sees me."

"Alright, but keep me updated! I'll be worried about you now."

Kaoru wanted to reach through the phone and hug the girl, "Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye. Sleep tight!"

Kaoru doubted that would be the case on this particular night (and she'd been right seeing as she was laying awake at four-thirty in the morning thinking about yesterday).

After that phone call, Kaoru's spirits felt higher, and she forced herself to think about everything that had transpired in the last six months. An older man's smiling face came to focus in her mind – dark haired; the tops of his broad, square shoulders; a stern face but with a loving smile known only to her; and brown eyes that showed a spirit like no other.

And then another man appeared in her mind, also smiling…

…but far from lovingly.

The two men's images swapped back and forth in her mind's eye, each change bringing back a shred of the determination she'd had this summer – and, which, had unfortunately disappeared thus far.

Kaoru got up and checked the bento in the microwave. Her hunger had come back with a vengeance, and the bell had gone off unheeded during her phone call with Misao. She timed in another minute to warm it back up.

Then she sank onto the floor next to her bed and pulled a bag out from underneath it.

She hadn't wanted to unpacked the item in front of Kenshin, but she wasn't sure if the item was allowed anyway. The school may be highly unique in the types of clubs it offered, but that still didn't mean weapons were allowed inside the dorms.

Kaoru pulled the item out and unwrapped the cushioning cloth around it.

She balanced the bokken perfectly between her spaced hands and handled it with all the care in the world. The words inscribed along the base were enough to bring fresh tears to her eyes, but she refrained.

_To my beloved daughter. May she succeed in all she fights for._

…what was she doing?

The image of her father standing in the doorway of their dojo ran through her mind like a wildfire. His hakama and gi shown with a glow unbefitting their use, and his high ponytail blew in a wind she couldn't feel. A bokken stood like a staff in front, the tip pointed into the deck beneath his feet and his hands folded on top of each other over the hilt. His body spoke with presence, but his smile was gentle and comforting.

What was she _doing_?

Her trembling hands enclosed in a tight grip around the sword, the feel of the word permeating strength into her arms. It resembled the same strength she'd felt upon receiving the sword as a gift from her father for finally reaching the level of adjutant master at the dojo.

WHAT WAS SHE DOING!?

Her father had been right when choosing to put those words on the wood. He knew – as did she, though in her stubbornness she'd forgotten – that the only things worth having were those worth fighting for. How could she give up before she'd even started? What had all that planning been for? And what the hell was she thinking by calling Megumi of all people!?

No, she came here with goal, a purpose. A purpose that meant more than life to her. A goal that she'd do anything to reach, even if it was dangerous or stupid.

The microwave bell went off. Kaoru hurriedly wrapped the sword back in its cloth and hid it back in the bag underneath the bed. A warm, microwavable dinner was bound to make her feel better. In fact, it felt just like home.

* * *

Yes, yesterday had been her first big breakdown since this whole situation started, but she felt better after having it. The fear and anxiety had slowly ebbed away from her mind last night as she lay in bed thinking about all that had transpired in the last six months to drive her to this point and those thoughts drove her resolve to the max. She felt more determined than ever to see this thing through.

There was only one _tiny_ other problem to deal with.

Kenshin…

…and his hotness.

Or actually, just his hotness. Kenshin, himself, seemed to be a pretty easy going guy.

But _kami_ – the sight of his half-naked body last night as he changed into his pajamas was almost enough to revert her back into female mode and send her on the prowl.

Kaoru turned to look at the young man destined to be her roommate for the whole school year and wondered if she shouldn't take up Sano's offer to exchange roommates before it was too late. But without knowing too much about either Kenshin or Sano, she might just end up moving into a real problem. Especially after Sano painted such a favorable image of her roommate and…less of his (you know, with this Kamawatari's or whoever's possible "interest" in her and all). Plus, it would be just down right rude to Kenshin, who hadn't really done anything to her yet and who most obviously didn't want Sano as a roommate.

Well, she was most certainly going to have to do something. Maybe she could convince Kenshin to grow some grotesque body hair and say it would make him manlier. That would definitely put her off, but she doubted such a gorgeous body could grow hair that repulsive – or any at all for that matter.

No, she didn't think there was anything she could get Kenshin to do or wear that would hide those smooth and attractive features, and nothing less than twenty pounds was going to make that sexy butt of his go away. She would have to do something to herself, some sort of mental block that wouldn't allow her to view Kenshin as boyfriend (or boy-toy) material.

But no mental block was coming to her this morning and she wasn't falling anymore asleep, so she might as well get up and do something progressive. She hadn't gotten the chance to explore the bath and shower situation yet, so she grabbed her uniform and tooth brush and headed there first, careful not to wake her roommate on the way out.

Because the school was so small and unpopulated, they could afford to be a little more luxurious and spacious with all their amenities. Kaoru passed the study lounge on their floor and saw comfortable chairs and a nice size TV, along with tables of various shapes and sizes. She continued down the middle hallway and found the bathroom entrance between the two staircases (which were still a couple doors down on either side) almost right across from the lounge.

She made a quick check for people down the hallway. With nobody in sight, she pushed the door to the bathroom open tentatively and listened for any signs of life. Hearing none, she let herself in.

Class didn't start until 8:45, and Kaoru was glad to hear no 5:30 early birds like herself (though, by preference, she really wasn't either) awaiting her inside the bathroom. Immediately after entering the bathroom a wall appeared, leading to an opening on either side of it. There were turns down both ways that blocked her from seeing which way led to what. She decided to take the right first and, after turning again, saw the room open up into a rectangular space with sinks and toilets – and the unnecessary urinals. Going back the other way revealed a room of the same shape, but with showers and mirrors; and, upon further inspection, Kaoru was delighted to find the showers to be private! There were three stalls raised up on a two-step platform, sort of hidden behind another tiled wall with a large gap in the middle. All of the showers had log curtains that brushed the floor and tall divisions between them. On the opposite wall were full and half length body mirrors, some with ledges protruding out beneath them and two electric air dryers on the small back wall.

If Kaoru were at an all-girl school and discovered that this was the bathroom in her dorm, she'd be ecstatic. But knowing that this was a boy dorm, and that boys generally (in her experience) didn't care too much about their hygiene, she found it amazing that the facilities were so nice. Not to mention the full length mirrors a little out of place.

Though, when she thought about it, there _were_ a lot of good looking guys here.

Regardless, the private showers took a bit of pressure off of her and Kaoru contemplated taking one right now. But she didn't bring her stuff and didn't feel like starting her day off paranoid that someone would walk in on her. Instead, she went back to the other side and began brushing her teeth, checking out her new image in the mirror.

Kaoru had waited until the day before she left Tokyo to get her hair cut and the process had been emotionally trying. Ten years of long hair had been gone in an instant, and she couldn't stop from crying, try as she might. The light weight was still new to the muscles in her neck, which were used to compensating for a heavier load. Even her fingers hadn't adjusted to the boyish-bob, the sensation of running her fingers through her hair always seeming to end abruptly and without warning. But Megumi said that the mushroom cut would be the most convincing aspect of her disguise and Kaoru had to agree.

Her hair no longer had any layers or cute styling abilities, and the buzzed section in the back made her neck cold, but she did get to keep some bangs. Being able to have some length made her feel less exposed. Her hair had always been a sort of security blanket, an everlasting testimony to her femininity, which was always thrown into question by the lifestyle she and her father lead. But now even that was gone, and all she had left was her will to continue without material things.

Although…she did notice that Kenshin had long hair and Kaoru would be lying if she didn't admit that she was a little jealous of that fact, even if it did look good with his physique.

Finished brushing her teeth, Kaoru changed into her uniform, checking to make sure her breast bindings were securely in place. She went back to the shower side and gave herself the once over in the full-length mirrors, wondering if anyone would be able to tell the difference in her body shape. Megumi and she had decided to order the small size, ready to make alterations if anything was too tight, but even that size was a bit baggy on Kaoru's lithe frame, much to her and her cousin's pleasure. The extra material seemed to do a good job of swallowing up any identifiable features of Kaoru's body and Megumi had only had to alter the lengths.

The colors of the school were reflected in the uniforms. Kaoru was wearing the "summer" version right now (if you could really call it that) with navy blue slacks; a thin, white, cotton, button-up shirt; a matching navy blue tie; and a pale yellow sweater vest with the school crest over the left breast. The crest was an overly elegant "S" with a detailed design of curvy lines around it, outlined in blue. The sweater vest was an excellent addition to hiding her breasts, and would be optimal to wear when summer really did arrive – even though during the hotter months it was optional.

Kaoru gave herself one more look over and then exited the bathroom. She stood alone in the hallway for a minute, thinking about what to do next. Returning to her room seemed less than beneficial right now, but there was nothing left for her to see down this hallway. Then she remembered the stairs.

With nothing better to do and no over daunting group of boys to scare her away, Kaoru bound for the stairs and headed to the floors below. She knew the fourth floor belonged to the first years, and she'd heard yesterday that the third floor housed staff and faculty that stayed on campus. The first floor was obviously the lobby and cafeteria, which left only the second floor for exploration.

The stairs didn't have doors between them and the floors, so when Kaoru reached the second level landing she could instantly see what the space was for. A small placard next the entryway read 2ND FLOOR: RECREATION.

If Kaoru thought the bathroom was nice, then this room really put the icing on the cake.

Stepping into the main area, Kaoru scanned the floor, hardly believing that a place like this could be part of a high school, private or not. Right in the middle of the open area were games and other leisure activities scattered about: pool tables, foosball, air hockey, a big screen TV, ping pong, a stereo system, and card tables. Her mouth really dropped open when she read the placard on the door to her right that read BATH, and went inside to find a fully decked out public bath and shower area.

She quickly moved back into the main area to check out the other walled off areas. To the left of the entrance were two rooms with no doors that Kaoru could clearly make out as a kitchen and laundry area. There was also another area opposite all the games and entrance that, when Kaoru got close enough to look inside, revealed a fully equipped weight room.

This school was nothing like any of the others she'd attended in her lifetime and it seemed ridiculous that a school this size could afford so much. It made her sick to think how much of her tuition went to all of this.

Then a noise came out from the kitchen and sent her heart racing.

Kaoru quickly closed the door to the weight room and looked around for a place to hide. Frenzied, she quietly made her way back to the entrance thinking to escape before she was found, but stopped short of the staircase.

What exactly was she running away from again?

Kaoru smacked herself in the forehead for her own stupidity and cowardice. How absolutely ridiculous that she thought to run away, as if someone seeing her now could get her in trouble. Wasn't she in disguise? Isn't this why she got her haircut? And obviously they wouldn't think it weird that she was up this early in the morning if they were here as well.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and shook her head to recollect her composer.

_You're a boy now, Kaoru, so act like one. _

Kaoru turned back around and headed towards the kitchen, determined to treat this as a test of her new self.

_Be a boy, act normal. Be a boy, act normal._

She came to a stop at the entrance of the kitchen.

A tall, young man looked up from his cup of tea.

"Good morning," Kaoru greeted before she could loose her nerve, projecting the best tenor voice she could muster.

The man said nothing, continuing to sip his tea while looking at her. Kaoru felt her butterflies flutter in the wrong direction, and held her breath unintentionally.

The ceramic cup lowered from his lips, and he inhaled briefly.

"Good morning."

Feeling as if she'd just been let out of the tightest death grip Kaoru had ever had the pleasure of being in, she exhaled.

She was in the clear.

Kaoru realized that she really hadn't planned past that particular moment and searched her mind hurriedly for something normal to talk about, "Are you a new student?"

He made a pointed look at her and took a few seconds to respond again. "No."

"Oh…" Stupid question. She threw a hand up behind her head to try and play it off, grinning sheepishly. "I thought maybe you might be because you're up so early. You know, anxious with class starting today and all, like me."

"Mm."

She looked back to the room filled with games and then to the student. "Quite an impressive recreation room we've got here."

Another sip. "Aah."

Kaoru started to wonder if this guy was simply cranky in the mornings or if it was his personality. Perhaps it'd be better if she left him alone.

She made a look towards the staircase and decided that'd probably be the best choice right now and turned to say her goodbyes, "Well, I thin–"

"Whose your roommate?" the teen asked unexpectedly.

Kaoru's mind went blank. "Eh?"

"Whose your_ roommate_?"

"Um," Crap, what was his name again? Hiroshi, Hiroma, Hiruma – oh yeah! Himura!

"It's Himura. Himura Kenshin, I believe."

The dark-haired student suddenly gave an all too knowing smirk. "Aah…"

Kaoru made a note to figure out what was so special about her roommate. This guy was already the second person to have a good correlation with the redhead.

"Stay close to him - he'll take care of you."

Huh?

"Oh, okay. Thanks." She said, definitely intent on getting back to the room now. "It was nice meeting you…" she trailed off, hoping he would fill in the part with his name.

"Shinomori." Then he gave a questioning look, apparently waiting for her name.

"Kamiya," she said, deciding to abide by his last name only rule.

He gave a nod of acknowledgement.

She returned it and then turned to leave. "Have a nice day," she called as she headed for the stairs.

* * *

Kaoru had made a speedy return to her room, but had the unfortunate surprise of turning around after closing the door at the exact moment that Kenshin was getting up.

And receiving more than an eyeful.

"Ack!" Kaoru jumped back only to slam into the door. She saw Kenshin flinch at her outburst and stare at her in wonder.

"What?" he asked, thinking something had happened that he hadn't noticed upon waking. He looked around the room, checking to see if he'd missed something.

But he wasn't going to see what startled Kaoru unless he took a look at his own body – his shirtless body, and sexy disheveled hair, and…and…oh god, was that a tent in his pants?

Kaoru could feel her cheeks flame and forced her eyeballs back into her sockets. Was she witnessing her roommate with a morning wood?!

_Must make a speedy getaway!_

Quick enough to hurt her neck, Kaoru whipped her head to focus her eyes on her dresser and away from Kenshin. "It's nothing," she said. "You surprised me, that's all."

"Oh," Kenshin relaxed and scratched an itch in his side, smiling a little at his quirky roommate, but Kaoru wasn't looking at him to see it.

Still embarrassed and shocked, Kaoru dived onto her bead and buried her head into her pillows, determined not to look at Kenshin or let him see her. She listened silently as he moved about the room, presumably getting ready for day.

"You're up early," he commented.

"I couldn't sleep," Kaoru replied, glad for anything to distract from the mental images now burned into her brain.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little," she admitted.

The sound of clothes rustling reached her ears, sending a fresh wave of mental images her way.

"Don't worry, this is a great school. The teachers are great and the guys are pretty good for the most part. I can show you around if you'd like."

_Stay close to him – he'll take care of you._

Yeah, he was "taking care of her" alright…

But maybe she could handle herself better once he'd put some real clothes on.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Kaoru lied.

She reached to check the clock on her phone. It was still only 6:30 A.M.

* * *

Kaoru must have fallen asleep shortly after that because she awoke to the feeling of someone jostling her shoulder gently sometime later.

"-oru? Kaoru? Wake up."

Her eyes blinked open blurrily, and something red came into focus.

"Do you want to go to breakfast?"

The sound of Kenshin's voice brought her back to reality and she shot up in her bead, now fully awake.

"What time is it?" Kaoru asked, looking for her phone bewilderedly.

"About quarter to eight," Kenshin said, handing her phone to her from its place on the nightstand.

Kaoru took it from him, trying to shake away the last of the grogginess, "Thanks."

"Do you want come down for breakfast, or do you feel like skipping again?"

She looked at him questioningly, thinking he was making fun of her, but saw that his request was genuine. If she wanted to integrate into the student body, she should probably take the opportunity.

"No, I'll go today."

He gave her a friendly smile. "Great. Grab your stuff and we'll head down."

Kaoru watched as he moved away from her bed to get his own stuff. Her heart was pounding from the surprise of being woken up, and she took a moment to rub her eyes and take a few deep breaths. Hopefully she'd get used to waking up in this place, because she didn't think she'd survive long being this fidgety all the time.

No wonder squirrels weren't nice.

Glancing again at Kenshin, she saw he was almost ready to go. Hopping out of bed, she went over to her own desk and started putting in the few items she'd need for today into her mandatory book case. Then she gave her hair a quick comb through with her hands, grabbed her blazer for the opening ceremony later, keys, and book case, and followed Kenshin out the door.

_Be a boy, act normal. Be a boy, act normal._


	3. The Guys

**Flip-Flops**

Chapter 3

"_The Guys"_

By JazzQuirk

* * *

Kaoru could already tell it was going to be a long day.

But first she would have to make it through the morning.

She stood next to Kenshin in front of one of the cafeteria tables, currently occupied by her roommate's friends. The small crowd looked up from their energetic conversation as Kenshin and she drew close enough to set their trays down on the table.

"Good morning, everyone," Kenshin greeted.

"Kenshin! Hey, man! We were just talking about you!" greeted one of the guys back.

"Oh really?" Kenshin inquired, tone and smile implying that he doubted it was anything good.

"Yes," started another at the table, "we were just discussing your roo–"

"Waaaaiii! Is that him!?" Kaoru winced a little at the sudden abuse to her eardrums, and dually noted that she wasn't the only one. The sound (which even managed to pierce the loud humming of the cafeteria buzz with its screechiness) came from a third, enthusiastic voice, accompanied by a hand pointing to the right of Kenshin.

Kaoru watched as the redhead followed the direction of the finger until he was looking upon her, and they looked at each other with clearly confused expressions upon their faces. But she was glad to see that he had picked up on her uneasiness, and Kenshin tried quickly to diffuse the situation. "Uh, yes. Everyone, this is my roommate, Kaoru," then he turned to Kaoru, "Kaoru, this is everyone."

Kaoru took her cue and gave a nod of the head to the occupants of the table, "Good morning, it's nice to meet all o–"

But she, too, was cut off by the third person, who had just shot out of his seat to come running over to grab Kaoru by the face, her instant reaction being to jump back at the unexpected contact.

"Yatta! Finally, another bishounen for my collection!" declared the overwhelmingly taller student gleefully, attracting more than a few curious glances from the tables nearby. They quickly became eye rolls upon seeing who it was. Kaoru's face, on the other hand, had gone from mildly confused to completely horrified.

"Look at this face!" he continued. "Perfectly heart-shaped, high cheek bones, beautiful skin!"

"Kamatari, leave the poor guy alone," tried the first speaker of the table.

His attempts were futile as Kamatari only switched from holding Kaoru's face to engulfing him in a suffocating hug. Kaoru, realizing what he was about to do and_ where_ exactly his arms were going to land, threw her arms up in reflexive move to protect herself – both from involuntary molestation and from being exposed.

"I could just eat him up!" Kamatari let go for a moment and took another close look at her face, then scooped her up again.

"Ack!" she choked out, completely taken aback by the amount of strength the effeminate man had. Kaoru attempted to hold her breath as he squeezed the daylights out of her. A depressing thought that she wasn't cut out for a man's world briefly crossed her mind, and she prayed this one would let go soon.

"That's enough, Kamatari," the final voice instructed.

Kamatari, surprisingly, stopped his fawning, but did look at the person in protest. "What? I'm just complementing the guy and saying hello!" His face was all smiles again as if that had cleared everything up, snuggling his head against Kaoru's, unimpeded.

"And clearly traumatizing him."

This time Kamatari pulled all the way away from the shorter student, only to see that he truly _was_ traumatizing her, if Kaoru's tightly closed eyes and tensed posture were any indication. Kamatari quickly released her, seemingly horrified by his own actions.

"Oh my gosh! Kaoru, I'm so sorry!"

Kaoru blinked open one eye, checking to see if the coast was clear.

"Forgive me! Sometimes I just get so caught up in the moment when I see something I like!" Kamatari explained, taking a step back as if to encourage Kaoru to relax. She only managed to open both eyes and begin taking regular amounts of breaths again, having had the air in her lungs effectively squeezed out by him.

Kenshin took the break in the commotion as an opportunity to separate the two and grabbed Kaoru by the shoulders to direct her to a seat on his left. Kaoru flinched a bit at his touch, still holding her arms in front of her chest, but didn't object as she was placed next to a tall man with equally tall blonde hair and then flanked on the other side by Kenshin himself.

Kamatari, now alone, returned to his seat on the opposite side of the table - graciously away from Kaoru. He continued to smile at her, though, and Kenshin pulled her food tray over to rest in front of her on the table. Then he gave her an apologetic smile and Kaoru slowly relaxed her shoulders while trying to make sense of what just happened – and praying to Kami that Kamatari hadn't copped a feel somehow.

The table became quiet, an awkward silence hanging over them after what had just happened, and Kaoru could feel the hairs rising on the back of her neck as Kamatari continued to look at her unabashedly.

"I'm Seta Soujirou," chimed the student directly across from Kaoru suddenly, "but you can call me Souji." He had plastered on one very charming smile, and Kaoru was relieved that someone was making an effort to break up some of the tension now permeating the space.

"Kamiya Kaoru," she replied, desperate to move past her most recent introduction as everyone else.

"We saw each other on the elevator yesterday, didn't we?" asked Souji.

Kaoru cocked her head a little, trying to remember said incident, "Yeah, I think we did. You were with your dad or someone, right?"

Souji nodded.

"WHhhaaattt!?" exclaimed Kamatari again, sending Kaoru (and even Souji) back in alert. "Shishio-sama was here yesterday!? Souji, why didn't you tell me?!"

Souji scratched his head bewilderedly, clearly avoiding eye-contact with the other student. "Guess it slipped my mind," Souji offered, but Kamatari didn't buy it.

"Dammit, you know how I feel about your dad, Souji!"

"That's exactly why he didn't tell you," commented the teen to Kaoru's left.

Kamatari flushed red and turned to take his anger out on Souji instead, who blatantly began ignoring Kamatari's questioning.

"Did he ask about me?" he demanded.

Souji shrugged.

"What about that burn on his arm? How's it healing? Does he take care of it properly?"

More non-verbal answers.

"Just ignore him," said the guy to Kaoru's left again. "He's always like this, and there's nothing you can do to stop him. And don't worry about that hug either, he's practically done it to everyone he likes, including us."

"Yes," interjected Kenshin. "I remember my first run in with Kamatari quite clearly myself. I recall him discussing my features at length as well, so you might even consider yourself a little lucky that you only got hugged."

"Well that's comforting," Kaoru remarked sarcastically, still not completely over her first encounter with the cuddly man. She wished she could brush it off knowing that it was a common occurrence in the group, but she doubted any of them had almost had their real identity exposed by being felt up.

"It's okay, you'll get used to it. I'm Chou, by the way, Chou Sawagejou," introduced the blonde man.

"Kamiya Kaoru, it's nice to meet you."

Chou nodded and then pointed with his head to across the table. "And this gloomy thing over here is–"

"Shinomori," Kaoru finished.

The three guys not involved with Kamatari looked at her then, all of them very clearly surprised by her knowledge of his name.

"You know Aoshi?" Kenshin asked.

"We met this morning," Kaoru explained, glad that she at least knew somebody. She looked at Shinomori for support.

But he only returned a curiously raised eyebrow. "We did?"

Kaoru felt a sweat drop forming on her temple, and smiled uncomfortably. "Yeah. Remember? You were in the kitchen on the second floor, drinking tea."

"Ah, that would explain it," Kenshin said, and Kaoru looked at him quizzically, not following. He turned his attention to Aoshi instead. "You still get up at five o'clock every morning to make tea?"

"Aah."

"Why do you do that?" asked Chou, noticeably disgusted by the idea of waking up at such an ungodly hour.

"Because I like to," Shinomori stated in a tone that implied the issue was not up for discussion.

"So you remember now?" Kaoru offered.

"No."

"Don't worry about it Kaoru," Kenshin intervened at seeing her dejected face. "Aoshi's really _not_ a morning person. He's just been forced to get up ridiculously early his entire life that now he basically does it on auto pilot. But he never actually remembers anything that happens within the first hour or so of waking up. He's practically sleep-walking."

"You don't remember me at all?" Kaoru asked again, almost unable to believe what Kenshin said to be true (though, it would explain his rather unfriendly aura at the time). "Even after talking to me and asking me a question?"

Aoshi sat up straight and folder his arms in front of him, closing his eyes. Nobody said anything as they waited for him to finish his contemplating, an action done with almost zen-like meditation.

He stayed that way for a solid thirty seconds before unfolding his arms and taking another sip from his tea. Chou, Kaoru, and Kenshin leaned forward a little, waiting to hear his answer. The cup settled back onto the table.

"No."

Well, shit.

Chou ignored his own disappointment, "You know, maybe if you actually slept in to get a decent night's rest and didn't get up before the ass-crack of dawn you wouldn't be so pissy in the morning."

Aoshi's glare made the statement all the more justifiable.

"Speaking of early birds," started Kenshin, also ignoring Aoshi, "has anyone seen Sano?"

This effectively stalled Kamatari's banter with Souji and brought his attentions back to the rest of the group. "You mean that sack of shit that's currently my roommate?" he questioned, bitterness lacing every word. Kaoru noted the masculine drop in his voice as Kenshin nodded. "He was still passed out in his bed when I left this morning."

"Who's a sack of shit?"

Everyone turned to see the man in question stalking towards the edge of the table from the same direction Kenshin and Kaoru had come earlier. His appearance was disheveled and hastily thrown together, uniform wrinkled and long strands of brown hair sticking up everywhere. He'd opted not to grab a tray, all the food he'd picked up in line cradled in his arms.

"You are!" retorted Kamatari, unfazed by the teen's sudden appearance.

"Yeah, well we'll see how you feel about me after I take a nap in your bed later…naked."

"Don't you dare!" cried Kamatari, who now stood up in warning. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Sano shrugged off the effeminate man's belligerent death threats and sat down next to Aoshi, noticing that their table had one more member than usual. He spotted Kaoru and gave her a welcoming smile, which Kaoru returned meekly.

"Hey, Kamiya, how's it goin'?"

"Okay," Kaoru responded, warily eyeing Kamatari as he fussed.

"Whoa, what happened you?" Sano asked, not missing the damper in Kaoru's mood.

"He was attacked by Kamatari earlier," Chou answered.

He need say no more as Sano grimaced accordingly. "Ooo, sorry 'bout that man, probably should have warned you yesterday. Guess this means you aren't still considering switching rooms with me, huh?"

Kenshin replied before Kaoru could even digest that question, "I clearly recall Kaoru giving you an answer yesterday."

"Hey, you never know! Besides," he motioned in Kamatari's direction with his head, "you can't blame me for trying."

Kaoru was still watching Kamatari with a wary eye when Kenshin nudged her in the side and motioned towards her food tray, "You better start eating, we've only got about ten more minutes left."

Kaoru looked down at her food as if it hadn't been there. "Oh, yeah," she said, but Kaoru could feel that her appetite had been somewhat curved from the mornings unusual activities. She decided to try and choke down some food anyways.

"You're new to the school, right, Kamiya?" Souji asked, having finally escaped Kamatari's questioning.

"Hai," Kaoru said just before starting in on her breakfast.

"Me, too. " He went on when Kaoru gave him a perplexed look, "I'm a first year."

"How do you know these guys?" Kaoru asked between bites.

"Well, as you might have already figured out, Kamatari knows my father," Souji whispered across the table, trying not to catch Kamatari's attention again. Then he leaned back, "We used to go to the same middle school as well, and I often went to Kamatari's matches once he came here. That's how I met these guys."

"Oh, so you're all from around the area?"

"Yeah." This time it was Chou. "Where are you from?"

Kaoru swallowed hastily. "Tokyo."

"You're from Tokyo!" bellowed Sano, who had almost already devoured his entire breakfast, a feat nobody had (miraculously) seen him do. "Why didn't you say so earlier!?"

"Didn't know it was such a big deal," Kaoru replied. She really wished people would stop yelling this early in the morning.

"Of course it's a big deal! Oi, tell me," Sano waved her to lean in closer across the table, which she did, "are the girls there as sexy as they say they are?

_Whatever you do, don't punch him in the face, Kaoru_. She bitterly wanted to tell him apparently not, seeing as he couldn't even tell that she was girl, but that was hardly an appropriate response. Although, neither was his question.

She settled for giving him her best _you're-a-complete-idiot_ look and leaned back to sit up straight again. "That's why you're so excited to find out that I'm from Tokyo?" Yeah, change the subject.

Sano appeared unfazed, grinning cockily, "Gotta ask when you got the chance, ne?"

She ignored him.

"What made her decide to come to Kyoto?" Souji inquired, returning them to a more civilized conversation.

"This school."

"Oh yeah? You must have come to join one of the clubs then?" Chou asked, crumpling up the trash on his plate and forming it into a single ball before aiming it at the trashcan. He missed.

"Yeah, I came to join the kendo club."

Had this been a sitcom or comedy show on daily television, the group's immediate reaction to her last statement probably would have been funny, considering the circumstances. But as it was, being a girl disguised as a boy and declaring that you wanted to join the kendo club only to have six teenage boys _all_ freeze in mid-action to look at you in amazement wasn't _quite_ as funny as it sounded.

And then, Sano started to laugh.

A chortle at first, but it quickly grew in volume as one-by-one Chou, Kamatari, and Souji joined in, until all four of them sat there cackling with each other about what was obviously some perverse inside joke. It took them a little longer than Kaoru thought was necessary to calm down.

"Well, you _don't say_," Sano finally commented, and Kaoru could feel her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Laughing at her for no apparent reason was one thing, but laughing at her because they thought she _couldn't do kendo_? They had better not be thinking that she was weak simply because of her size or lean figure. She prayed that didn't turn out to be the case, or the plan be damned - she would kick all their asses!

"Yeah, I _do_ say," she returned, her anger at being laughed at apparent on her face. Insecurity from being in a new place kept her temper at bay, but the emotions were bubbling beneath the surface none the less.

Kenshin and Aoshi hadn't reacted in the same way as their tablemates, and Kaoru managed to catch their openly shared knowing-looks. It only served to prove that she was very much out of the loop and that just pissed her off even more. She _hated_ being out of the loop.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sano said throwing his hands up defense, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just funny that you should say you wanna be in _that_ particular club, that's all."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" Kaoru asked, grabbing her water and idly thinking she might be throwing it soon.

Sano didn't say anything back right away, choosing instead to eye Kenshin in that suspicious way as if to say '_should I tell him?'_ Kaoru whipped her head back and forth between him and her roommate as neither spoke verbally, but she could see there was definitely some form of conversation going on. Kenshin sat trying to fight off a full-out scowl as Sano continued to stare at him. The he began wiggling his eyebrows and Kenshin wadded up a napkin to throw at him.

Sano laughed victoriously, and everyone else (minus Kenshin, of course) chortled at the teens' antics. Even Aoshi cracked a smirk.

Kaoru almost slammed her water back onto her tray. "What's so _funny_?" she bit out, not sure how much longer she could stand this. This was too much crap for one morning…

"Sorry, sorry, Kaoru, don't be upset," Kamatari tried to sooth over, but Kaoru hardly took any comfort from _him_. "We're not laughing at you, we're laughing at Kenshin."

She felt the tenseness in her body suddenly evaporate as one eyebrow shot up in confusion. "You are?"

"Yeah, 'cause he just lost a bet!" Sano bragged, still smiling as if he'd won the lottery.

Kaoru tried to gage Kenshin's reaction, but he had turned away from her so she couldn't see his face.

She felt something sink in her gut a little bit, and asked blatantly to no one in particular, "Did I lose him the bet?"

"Yes you did!" Sano cried, breaking into another bout of maniacal laughter.

Kaoru gave an exaggerated exhale at the stupidity of it all (for she was certain that whatever this bet turned out to be it was dumb), but couldn't help being relieved it hadn't been anything about her really. She'd been under stress before, but this level of paranoia was starting to get to her. Hopefully it wouldn't last forever.

She picked up the piece of fruit on her tray and stuffed it in her bag for later – she definitely didn't have the appetite to eat anymore now – and ignored the cackling Sano and scowling Kenshin. "So what was this bet about?"

"Sano bet Kenshin that he would get another Kendo club member for a roommate," Souji told her.

"Why would they bet on that?"

"Well," Chou cut in, "Kenshin didn't exactly have the best dorm experience last year."

"That's the understatement of the year," Kenshin grunted out, just before shoving an overly large piece of food into his mouth.

"The guy's name is Enishi," Chou continued, catching Kaoru's attention again, "and both he and Kenshin made it onto the competition team for Kendo in their first year."

Kaoru nodded along, now very much interested after learning her roommate was also into Kendo.

"At first it seemed that they would get along really well, 'cause they had a lot in common," Chou went on. "Both first years, both really good, both here on scholarships, both lady-killers at all the tournaments – I admit, I was a little jealous."

_He could do more than kill a girl with those looks_, Kaoru thought.

"But that was before we all found out that Enishi has a bit of a competitive slash jealousy issue," Kamatari chimed in, looking very put off by his own description of the teen. "It was very disappointing."

"Yeah," Chou finished, "and it wasn't long before he was after Kenshin's throat."

"Did you guys get in a fight?" Kaoru asked, turning to question Kenshin directly.

"We mostly took it out on each other during practice, but it got a lot worse as the school year progressed," he answered.

"Especially after Sano opened his big, fat mouth and let it slip that Kenshin liked Enishi's older sister," Kamatari informed her, sending Sano another look of disgust.

"Hey, I already apologized a hundred times for that, okay!" Sano yelled defensively. "Besides, we all agreed he would have found out eventually!"

"Better later than sooner," Kenshin said bitterly.

"What happened when he found out?" Kaoru had turned back to Chou, effectively cutting off anything Sano might have said in rebuttal.

"Kenshin is a little vague on the details of what happened in the beginning, but it ended with him and Enishi in a fist fight in the dorm halls."

Kaoru didn't stop herself from eyeing Kenshin in a way that screamed 'You? In a fight?' She had to know how he faired. "Did you win?"

Kenshin sighed and rested his head in his hand, arm propped on the table. "Nah. One of the teachers came up and broke up the fight before I could smash his face in."

"How many weeks of detention did you get for that again?" Sano asked.

"Two weeks. Plus Hiko-sensei made us clean the dojo for a whole month."

"Did you guys get into any more fights after that?" inquired Kaoru. She hadn't realized there would be so much drama at an all-boys school; but, then again, she wasn't all that surprised.

"No. After cleaning the dojo for that long by ourselves it was clear it wasn't worth doing again. We lapsed into an unspoken truce that involved not speaking to each other and ignoring each other's existence unless absolutely necessary."

"Enishi did almost flip his shit again, though, when you got voted to be Captain of the team at the end of last year," Sano commented idly.

Kaoru nodded slowly in agreement, empathizing with Kenshin's situation. She'd had her fair share of problems with some violent boys who couldn't get their heads out of the asses back in Tokyo, but certainly nothing – wait, **WHAT**!?

"Did you just say Kenshin is Captain of the Kendo team?!" Kaoru blurted at Sano, unbelieving that she had heard him correctly.

"Yeah," he responded nonchalantly, obviously seeing it as unimportant information, "and Aoshi's the Vice Captain."

Kaoru's jaw dropped.

"No way!" She shouted, almost rising from her chair in shock. A few students nearby glanced at their table again. Kaoru couldn't believe it! Her roommate – Captain of the Kendo team! And Aoshi – the first guy she tried her school disguise on today but didn't even remember meeting her – was Vice? This was just too insane!

Kaoru didn't know if she wanted to jump for joy or throw up.

"Oi, don't get so excited," Sano snarled lightly, sticking a finger in his ear.

Kaoru quickly covered her mouth with her hands, cheeks blushing profusely as Chou and Kamatari laughed at her. Aoshi eyed her skeptically, but Kenshin looked like he was trying to hold back his own laugh…

…and thankfully not upset.

"Sorry," she mumbled, getting herself back under control. "I wasn't expecting it, that's all."

A hand came up and slapped her on the back abruptly, her body lurching forward from the force of it. "You _should_ be excited," Chou bellowed, slapping her a second time for good measure and she had to brace herself against the table. "You just hit the jackpot for friends! Souji and I are on the team, too."

"Err, I'm not on the team yet, Chou," Souji stated. "I still have to try out first."

"Don't be silly!" chided Kamatari. "You were scouted. That means you're a shoe win for sure."

"Scouted?" Kaoru repeated, but lost her opportunity for a response as the school bell went off. The noise in the cafeteria instantly notched up a few levels as all the remaining students got up to dump their trays and leave. She quickly followed suit as everyone at her table got up to do the same, and she hurriedly ran after Kenshin as he went to throw his trash.

"I hope you're not mad about the bet," Kenshin said as they walked side by side in the herd of students heading outside. "I already think you're a hundred times better than Enishi as a roommate, and I still prefer you over Sano."

"Ah, no, it's fine," Kaoru replied back. She caught the door to hold it open for the person behind her, letting it go when he'd gotten his hand on it. "It really doesn't have anything to do with me, although I do feel bad for you. And don't worry, I'm nothing like Enishi."

_On so many levels_, she noted silently.

"I'm sorry for shouting," she apologized, changing topics.

Kenshin laughed, and it made her strangely happy to have been the source of it. "Don't worry about it," he told her, "it's good to be enthusiastic. You'll need it if you're going to be on the Kendo team."

"Why, because of Enishi?" she joked.

Kenshin scoffed. "I was thinking more about the training schedules, but yeah, that too."

"You still like his sister?" Kaoru questioned before she could stop herself. She knew instantly that she wanted to know for less than manly reasons and kicked herself mentally for it.

He didn't say anything at first, but she could see the blush working its way up onto his cheeks. "Yeah," he breathed out after a moment, eyes forlorn as he spoke.

Kaoru felt her lips move into a small frown as a little bubble of hope floating around in her heart somewhere suddenly burst. The contents sunk to the pit of her stomach and laid there.

Sadly, she knew, it was probably for the best.

Kenshin didn't say anything else as they made their way to the entrance ceremony with everyone else. She shook her head a little to brush off the feelings of disappointment and wiped the frown from her face. Kenshin was just a temporary fixation, a new boy in her life in a new place. Her interest in him and his looks would pass just like every other time she met a boy who'd caught her eye, and then everything would be fine. She couldn't afford to get distracted with boys right now anyway – she had work to do.

And besides – Kaoru had a strict _no-dating_ rule with her fellow Kendo students.

* * *

**A/N**: Ah, nah, did she just do some name drops! You bet your ass I did!

I know this was a long time to wait, but I have to say I'm happy I did. The last half of this chapter just wasn't happening, but when I finally got the flow it just wrote itself so perfectly (in my opinion)! Thanks for all the reviews and patience, Chapter 4 is underway.

And thanks to Timbletum for your support on this one!


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